Zucchini!!

This is one of my all time favorite cake recipes,it is so delicious.
This is the perfect time of year to make some with all the zucchini around.
I'm making a few today!


Pineapple Zucchini sheet cake with Cream cheese frosting!

350,33-35 min

Cake
1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar
½ cups Sweetened, Flaked Coconut
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Or More To To Taste (optional)
1 pinch Ginger (optional)
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 whole Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (drained on paper towel)
1 can (20 Oz. Size) Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (Reserve Juice In Case You Need It For The Cake Batter Or The Frosting)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine flours, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into the flour mixture. Batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. If it still seems too dry, just add a little splash of the pineapple juice.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for about 33–35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.


Frosting

2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
1 package (8 Oz. Size) Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (You Can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
2 cups Powdered Sugar, More Or Less As Needed
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Splash Of Pineapple Juice, If Necessary
Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans (optional)

Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of milk or pineapple juice if necessary. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired. 


Notes : If your zucchini are huge, scrape the seeds out of the center before you shred it so it’s not too watery. Also, I spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit. Then I measure out 2 cups. I’m not sure if this is critical, though. Nuts can also be added to the cake batter if desired. This recipe makes a very generous amount of frosting.

This recipe can be turned into a Carrot Cake just by substituting shredded carrots for the zucchini.


Enjoy!!!!

A weekend adventure before the storm

Our Saturday was spent with a group of 30 like minded young Nova Scotia farmers.

We all met at a local farm at noon,the same farm I buy my small fruit plants from.
Everyone piled into a van,with a few of us taking our own transportation,and headed to Luckett Vineyard for a tour and talk with farm manager,Marcel and Winemaker,Mike.

The winery was beautiful but the views from the vineyard were phenomenal!!

We learned about growing grapes in our Valley climate and what was needed for a successful harvest,this was most interesting.

When the tour ended we headed to Blueberry Acres.
A high bush blueberry farm abundant with over 250 acres of blueberries alone,not to mention the cherry tomatoes and raspberries.

The crop this year is massive..

The tour was great and we agreed that Jersey was our favorite variety tasting very similar to wild blueberries.

We are planning to add blueberries to our farm production in large quantities over the next year,a few hundred plants.
Our soil was assessed by our local agriculture specialists and consultants and determined our Oak field was prime blueberry land so this makes things easier.

Everyone met back at the fruit farm for a tour followed by a tasty local BBQ.
The day was fun and we enjoyed meeting new connections and the future of NS agriculture.

Today we spent the day getting ready for tropical storm Irene.
She is expected to hit overnight with high winds and lots of rain.
The rain has already started along with wind,since noon,it would be nice if it gets no worse...


I think of all those blueberries,apples and vegetables that will surly be severly damaged if things get worse.
Sending thoughts to all who have been and will be effected by Irene..
Until next time.

A new breed of milk cow that's not so new....

When we bred our Purebred Jersey,Ginger,to our majestic Highland bull,Lucas, we were not sure of what we would end up with for a calf.
Both breeds being phenomenal in their own way.

The result was Sugar,a sweet faced heifer calf.
Sugar is now 9 months old and proving to be one of the best cross calf's I have ever seen.

I was re-reading  my vintage Harrowsmith book last week when I came across the article that got me interested in the Highland breed.
Yon Bonnie Canny Kine,by Donalda  Badone.

In this article I came across a section titled ," Lazy Man's Jersey".
I was shocked!
I have searched the web high and low for any info on crossing a Highland with a Jersey to no avail.
All this time it was right here on my book shelf!

The article describes the cross as follows,

"In addition, the Peases crossed a straightbred  Jersey cow with "Leodhas", to produce what Nancy describes as "the lazy man's Jersey", a cow that produces creamy milk in slightly less quantity than a  jersey   but, from a health view-point, is more resilient than a Jersey and  does not suffer from milk fever an ailment common  among  heavy  milk  producers.     "She has no  problem  with  calving, either, and has been bred every year to a Hereford bull," says Nancy. "She's a small cow, about 900 pounds,  Highland red,  smooth-furred in summer with hair about three inches long in winter."

To me Sugar is a superb calf, she is friendly as can be like both breeds,she is big,thick and sturdy,her growth rate has been far quicker then the pure Highland,as to expected.
Next year we will breed her and see what her milk production and calving are like,hopefully as great as the article describes.

The "Jerseyland" is not such a new breed as I thought with them being bred for well over 30 years with success.
The "breed" would make the perfect family milk cow with the excess bull calves proving to be beefier then the straight Jersey for freezer beef.
I have bred Ginger to our new bull Yeoman with hopes of a black "Jerseyland" next season...time will tell.

If you are looking for that perfect homestead milk cow I think the "Jerseyland" is worth a second look.

You can read the Harrowsmith article Here !
Enjoy!

Around the farm with pictures for Claire...

The year is flying by fast.
Fall is nearing with its crisp air and crop abundance evident.

Hay is getting scarce as the weather has been unpredictable,and even though they call for sun we hardly get threes days in a row without rain.
The price has been driven up triple.
We have all of our hay except second cut. The second cut looks great because of the rain so lets hope when September rolls around we have enough nice days to get it cut and bailed.

The calves are growing and looking great.
Remember Stormy?

She is starting to shed her light bleached summer coat and grow her nice double coat for winter.
This calf is spectacular and I can't wait until she is three to see what she matures into.

Yeoman should have us a new crop of calves in the spring..

The addition of a black bull we should see lots of silver duns and blacks added to our fold.

We will be sending our steer Yorick,to the abattoir soon for processing. We will keep half for our self's and the other half will be sold in box lots worth anywhere from $100-250.

Ginger and Sugar will be moving back in the barn come November.

Sugar in the back,Half Highland Half Jersey,9mths.
Benjamen on the left,2 year old steer, Bindi on the right,2 year old heifer,both pure Highland.

The sheep pasture has lasted for many more months then normal for our sandy soil due to the large amounts of rain.

They are liking the area around the tree eating all the apple drops.

Until next time....

Joining the Homestead barn hop...

Wordless Wednesday

Ram edition....